CBC 3’s best indie record store…

Is in Prince George? Will wonders never cease!! Personally I suspect it’s because of the Roller Derby team founded through the store, the Meow Girls, who seem heart-warmingly kickass. That and the liveshows in house, cheap beers, active campaigning, a good sense of humour, 1 dollar record bins, and big hearts, I’m guessin’.

Hey Everybody play the Awkward Stage at Meow Records

Anyway, Meow Records in Prince George is the official winner of this inaugeral ‘best indie record store’ competition…

“It shocks us that Meow Records, the most remote record store location in our entire nominated list of 47 stores, managed to rally such incredible fan support over the past month to edge them in a very close competition to the No. 1 spot,” said CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence, who created the competition.

In the run-up to Record Store Day, Lawrence profiled small-scale music retailers across the country.

Last month, an appeal to listeners resulted in 47 nominations, which were eventually boiled down to a Top 5 through public voting.

Although many might have expected established stores like Vancouver’s Zulu or Toronto’s Rotate This to dominate, the fact that venues in smaller cities emerged as finalists came as a surprise, even for Lawrence.

“This has turned into a total underdog contest that has completely surprised everyone,” he said this week.

Other nominees included:

* Backstreet Records in Saint John, N.B.
* Back Alley Music in Charlottetown.
* Taz Records in Halifax.
* Sound Exchange [I think this should read Sound Connection] in Edmonton.

Hundreds register Record Store Day events

Indie music retailers across Canada, the U.S. and even stores in Italy registered events they’ve planned on the official Record Store Day website.

In recent years, music downloading, declining album sales and other issues have resulted in an increasing number of music stores and chains cutting back or closing completely.

An association of U.S. independent music retailers hatched the idea of celebrating the culture and community of the traditional music store with its own day.

Musicians and music-lovers — including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Chuck Berry — have sent in messages of support to the campaign.

“The indie record stores are the backbone of the recorded music culture. It’s where we go to network, browse around and find new songs to love,” Joan Jett wrote.

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